This is as good as it's going to get

This pattern called to me and wanted me to make something I could be proud of, as well as something I won't have the chance to make/wear again. Ever.

After realising that trying to churn out a top each weekend was conflicting with my other plan of sleeping at every opportunity, I spent the last 3 weekends before going on leave trying to make this look as good as I could.

1950s Pattern bought from the States via eBay

1950s repro fabric bought from the V&A museum shop online for a song.

However, the stripes were horizontal, so much calculating needed before buying, then each section had to be cut out and turned round.

Which is when I noticed the stripes STARTED out straight, but had progressively banana-ed out to the right hand selvedge: so more cutting and trying to match straight stripes where it mattered and bendy ones where it didn't.

And keep the flowers the right way round. And not swear.

Nearly lost one of the pattern pieces.

Nice to see I'm not the only one with a taste for vintage.

One nice thing was that the stripes in the pleats at the back actually matched up to the pattern, so they look ok without any special effort from me. So here, after much struggling with Blogger formatting, is the finished article:

And finally, official bump photo of April 2012

Yes, I do look rather horrified about something, don't I?